I've already begun the hardest part, starting. This reminds me a lot of when I first started to knit. My fingers felt foreign and wouldn't do what my brain was telling them to do. I was so uncomfortable. Now my fingers practically sing when they get two needles and yarn between them. This is what is happening while I sew. The machine is a bit awkward, I can't cut things exactly the shape or size I want. I'm constantly sticking myself with the pins. I know it will get easier and before you know it, I'll be able to whip together a dress in an evening. For now however, I just have to endure. If I can make it past "the start," then I am well on my way to becoming a proficient dress maker.
So, I picked out some fabric and the materials I needed and began sewing earlier this month. I'm using a book called "Built by Wendy." I found it in a yarn/fabric store in SoHo and it inspired me. The forward that the author gives about the reasons for making dresses really appealed to me. Dresses are timeless pieces of fashion and have been worn for a reason. I would never give up the liberty of wearing pants but I just look and feel better in a dress.
With my fabric and book in hand I started sewing the first dress in the book. It is meant to be something I can wear to work. This means it can't be too tight, it must have sleeves, and it has to be knee length.
At the moment, I have most of it sewn. However, I am at an impasse. The dress looks like a hospital gown and when I wear it, I look like I should be on meds. So let's look at what I did right and what I obviously did wrong.
This is before I finished the sleeves and added the collar.
First, the good things:
1. I followed the pattern very well. I cut it out and all the pieces matches up and sewed up easily.
2. I put the zipper on without tearing it out a million times. This was probably the easiest part of the whole project.
3. It fits! I didn't have to let it out or take it in. This is a first, usually I have to try something on and make adjustments. With the pattern however, I was able to know the exact shape.
Second, the bad things:
1. Something went wrong. The neck is too large, the arm holes are too large, and the dress is too tight in the hips. If I pull the fabric up a few inches, it fits better around my hips.
2. I can't wear it outside. There are too many mistakes for me to wear it to work or any other place. I wouldn't say I failed because I learned a lot in the process but I'm going to have to figure out how to tailor the dress a little better to fit my body.
What to do for next time:
First, I didn't like making the collar. Also the fabric of the dress was too thin. To fix both these problems in one fell swoop, I'm going to buy double the fabric and sew a liner immediately. This will take care of finishing the inside to keep the dress from fraying. Also, I could potentially make reversible dress. (That's an idea for later!)
Also, I'm going to try to make the dress just from my measurements and forget about the pattern. I've made skirts before that fit my hips much better than this dress is, which means that pattern was not meant for my body shape. I think that getting a pattern that fits me exactly is the key. Let's just hope it happens sometime soon.
As for this dress, I won't waste the fabric and throw it out. I'll probably use it to experiment on or make a skirt. Let's hope dress #2 is better!
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